Next generation airplanes

Change happens whenever there's the big need. To move towards another direction is to move towards a different philosophy and a rethinking is necessary to overhaul everything. Military airplanes have seen the most changes throughout history because of their need to fit into each scenario and war in order to win. We can now see that military fighters can now take-off vertically and they can be stealthy at the same time while carrying on board the most sophisticated electronic equipment ever seen. 

Airlines, on the other side, saw the minor changes because their needs took less priority from governments to improve their design and efficiency, but it looks like that times are changing and the spot lights are now pointing towards a better use of civilian airplanes. The problems that today put so much pressure to the aviation industry can be translated into a single factor: fuel. It is now the principal obstacle that prevents a company into making more profits because of the outstanding costs of oil.

This prompted a reorganization of engineers into making civil airplanes better and more fuel efficient, much like cars they have to be lighter and burn less. So, drastic change comes with drastic ideas and the actual airplane shape might be soon something of the past. 

It all started to shift on a different scale when the world saw for the first time a two stories airplane made b Airbus, the a380.

People thought that this project would never see the daylight because of their lack of imagination and poor vision of the future, yet this is the perfect outcome of French design that comes with praise from all around the world. We all thought that the 747 "Jumbo Jet" would never be surpassed and this is proof that who doesn't dare can't achieve their ultimate goal. Boeing is now baffled with what to do to compete against the Airbus to avoid staying in the shadow and will most likely build a longer version of the 747 to increase payload and passenger capacity. 

Although Airbus opted for seat capacity with a staggering configuration that can go from 525, 644 and 853 passengers in three different settings; we must also think that capacity isn't everything. What about speed? To perform well an aircraft must win certain aerodynamic aspects like drag and weight, these two factors combined together are the result of fuel consumption.

The Finnish airline Finnair has made few projects on the paper regarding a total change in aircraft design with an emphasis on supersonic and passenger capacity.

The A600-850M is s prototype designed to increase travel speed with a reminiscences of the now defunct Concorde. It can carry 600 to 800 passengers while traveling up to mach 4.5 for intercontinental flights.

But unfortunately we won't see it anytime soon because it is schedules for a 2093 project.

On the other hand what we might see sooner is airplanes with a more familiar look with few changes that will increase their efficiency and cut fuel consumption. 

It is a project to replace the common turbofan engine with turbo propellers placed in the rear to reduce drag. The wings will be connected with the tail section via the elevators (the horizontal surfaces of the tail) making it into a loop, eliminating the induced drag on the tip of the wings in todays jets that also increase the use of fuel beside creating normal drag. The design also includes covering the upper parts of the wings with solar panel to help reduce the output of the normal engines.

The illustration here is another project that Boeing is exploring to reduce fuel burn, this will be probably the first step before building airplane with connected wings like the rendering in the picture above.

 

Bigger airplanes will have different shape and engine configuration due to the increase of all the factors that affect flight on a normal airplane. Here is a rendering of an hypothetical "flying body" which will generate most of the needed lift from the body rather from the wings. The central section (body) will present a significant change in the aeronautical industry when dealing with passengers and services on board. 

This future airplane will have the capacity to carry something like 1000 passengers or more while traveling at a speed faster than the actual jets. The key to a next-gen airplane is the implementation of modern materials for the construction that can be used also for the interiors, like seats and galleys. Lightweight materials used to build wings to make them more elastic and adaptable to flight speed will save fuel, using less and less aluminium which is and expensive metal to purchase and also heavier.

But the real problem of creating bigger aircraft is dealing with the passenger response and their time spent on board as well as security, in fact many airlines now believe that with the increasing size of planes comes the risk of threats to passengers from attackers and placing marshals or security officers disguised like normal passengers is something that must be considered to prevent any accident in flight. Rethinking is necessary when planes will have different shapes because the difficulties in design come with security features like placing the right amount of emergency windows at the right places. This is what determines the success or failure of an aircraft manufacturer.

Vertical farming

The most common vertical structures we can think of today are downtown skyscrapers that in the last century have defined our new modern era. Architecture shifted from shape to shape to create futuristic landscapes that render each city unique and fantastic, the biggest example is the Burj Khalif the world biggest man-made construction measuring 828 meters located in Dubai.

Vertical construction is something that lately has been developed towards another direction not only for offices or civil housing, but for agricultural purposes. Vertical Farming is an innovative proposal that can create a solution for those countries that have limited space for farms to grow products, like Japan for example.

Farming will take place on building where small-sized crops will be placed one each floor like a flat with the aid of computers and automation of irrigation. All this with the help of solar power to reduce to the minimum its environmental impact.

The Italian firm Studiomobile developed a quite unique solution for vertical farming in Dubai with a project that will use desalinized sea water to irrigate the crops enclosed in pods.

Inside the temperature will be lowered to allow varieties of products to grow in better condition than the outside. It this project is realized  we can hope to see better living condition in places where farming is impossible, providing needing people basic food.

Drawing by Daniel Egnéus

I do not know how many artists there are that continue to produce works the old way with pencils, pens and colors. The traditional methods are being replaced by software that will save you time and money, but will give you something different in the end, something cold that anyone can do because Photoshop is on the hard disk of many people.

Artists like Daniel Egnéus are creating traditional products that come directly from their hand and not from a mouse or a printer. There are shaped and colors that mix beautifully along with themes that are very common like furnitures and objects on them, in fact Egnéus is an internation acclaimed artist that had worked for firms like H&M, Swarovski, BMW and Nike.

Daniel Egnéus was born in Sweden 37 years ago and made it clear that drawing is all he cares and knows to do. He lived and worked in Stockolm, Bologna, Prague, London, Rome and Berlin and had is breakthrough at the young age of 24.

His works are exposed worldwide in public galleries and also on t-shirt. Egnéus never stopped drawing and his technique can be clearly and easily identified, he developed this style in different rhythms he said :"I randomly had jumps of improvements in a time frame of something like a week, I would learn so much in that window that requests would overwhelm me" he stated; "You become really good when your language is synchronized with your feelings and what you want to do!" Egnéus said talking about his work saying also that inspiration is required is required when there isn't the need to copy something or someone, while the exercise to sharp your technique is essential for your passion and and to keep up with the increasing competition.

Urban sprawl: the suburb must die!

After War World 2 a new type of living was beginning to develop in north America that would impact the rest of the world, a phenomenon that today is becoming a serious issue and the impact it is having on our planet: the suburbs. Between the 1940s and the 1950s the social structure of living changed towards a new type of urban

architecture where people would move out of the city and claim the outskirt with a massive invasion of copy-paste housing. The suburb became quickly the symbol of the American dream: a house built for four people a backyard and a barbecue. That was the status quo that up until today seems to continue to thrive among the people of north America. It is considered a prize for the majority of people who aim to raise a family. You know the suburbs, quiet roads, nice lots and house space, playgrounds where the kids can play together, the ice cream truck buzzing around in the summer, the school bus, poker with friends in the basement and family bbqs on Sunday.

The problem is that now this urban sprawling is starting to saturate and consume more than it can produce. The massive land portion it requires is becoming bigger every year, some lots have pool and consume more water

than others and in US states like Nevada or California water is becoming very precious and expensive. Urban sprawling is easy, relative fast and cheap to build because it is made of the same shapes and materials, there is no diversification and thus it becomes appealing in satisfying people's dream of having a piece of the American dream.

Unfortunately this construction philosophy cannot continue to exists because it will eventually deplete natural space and available resources. Some cities eventually slowed the expanding of suburbia and built vertically downtown again over old buildings and promoting the city living once more. But the issue isn't resolved because the land masses required for suburban units is overwhelming in relations to a downtown residential building, that's why there is the need to reinvent the living spaces and to change people's thought on homes.

Paolo Soleri is an Italian architect born in Turin, Italy, and moved to the US to develop his vision of new urban spaces, so he invented Arcology which is a mix of architecture and ecology, where a sustainable way of life is possible bringing nature inside people houses, but with plants or other vegetation; rather living in an habitat with food grown by the same people who eat and live in this envorinment.

In 1970 Arcosanti became reality with the beginning of its construction 110km north of Phoenix in Arizona. Paolo and Colly Soleri bought the land and developed a structure that could host people in a space where they would be actively involved in the structure's progress and people's needs.

The structure is an ongoing experiment that proved to be successful and fully operational, the life that people live is totally different from the suburb type, in fact there are no cars, you have to walk your way around from. This prompted appreciation from many people since a more dynamic life style is in place rather than using your car to move wherever you need to. It is about living a healthier life and drastically reduce the impact you have on the planet.

Being only an experimental city, Arcosanti offers its visitors skills and trades to learn and to use: from pottery to agriculture, from cocking to communications; all this happens in a four weeks where the structure continues to expand with the help of its alumni.

Now imagine if we would all live in cities like this without transportation challenges, without limited pollution and with healthier eating habits. It will be a step forward towards a better civilization and care of our planet and the resources that are becoming scarce and objects of political and social conflicts.

An electric wind of change

About one one hundred years ago there were two types of car: the traditional with a combustion engine and the electric car. Oddly enough people purchasing electric cars knew what they were doing. They preferred their gasoline-free vehicle because according to them it was noisy and would pollute. They were right, but pressure from the oil corporation in the early 20th century drove the production of electric cars out of business. A century later it seems that having cars that do not pollute isn't a bad of an idea, especially since in the last five years the oil prices have gone up so far that even politicians are worried.

The big three US car maker (GM, Ford, Chrysler) are now facing extinction even after a major bail out given by the American government, and the desperation to survive without imploding has driven them to effectively reinvent the electric car. Other car prototypes fueled by hydrogen are still in the making because of the space that the hydrogen system requires on board, Europe opted to spread natural gas to pump station to drastically cut down car's fuel consumption and pollution. The market for these types has increased so much that it is now becoming mainstream to see them on the streets and on ads. 

In the latest North American International Auto Show in Detroit some interesting concept of electric cars were presented awing the public internationally. Here's the Hyundai concept Blue Will.

Toyota premiered with the FT-CH in a light lime color, a four door compact hatchback.

GM propose the Granite with an already-seen front grill, but with an interesting shape that should fit city needs

Volvo fitted the C-30 hatchback model with en electric engine keeping the exterior pretty much the same, for exception of the late 2009 front lifting.

FIAT follow the same example as Volvo and equips two model of the 500 with electric engines and a nice sport package to go along with.

Audi showed the E-tron based on a Volksvagen project from last year. The design of the rear reminds us a bit of the VW Corrado from the 90s.

Chevrolet was there with a production Volt available at your local dalership late 2010 early 2011.

At the same time Opel (GM owned) was there with their model Ampera which shares similarities with the Chevy Volt.

These are some interesting prototypes, check the NAIAS official website with more pictures about the event